Roberto Luongo Calls It Quits Just As You'd Expect Him To
There is no question that Roberto Luongo is one of the most entertaining dudes in the NHL. Well, in true Bobby Lou fashion, he retired today with an all-time tweet, two Gold Medals (2010, 2014) and as one of the best goalies to never win a Stanley Cup.
Luongo posted this message to Panthers fans on NHL.com
There’s a lot I want to say.
This is one of the toughest decisions I’ve faced in my life and it took me a long time to make it.
After thinking about it a lot over the past two months and listening to my body, I made up my mind. It just feels like the right time for me to step away from the game.
I love the game so much, but the commitment I required to prepare, to keep my body ready, has become overwhelming. Since I had my hip surgery a couple of years ago, I’ve been showing up two hours before every practice and three hours before every game to work out my hip. Even at night, whether it was the night before a game or even a night off, there I was rolling out, doing strengthening exercises. My entire life revolved around recovery, strengthening and making sure I was ready to go the next day.
I was willing to make that sacrifice because I love the game, I love being part of it, being in the action and competing with my teammates. I was willing to go through it all for my love of hockey.
After this season ended and I had an opportunity to step away, I started thinking about things. Looking back at last season, I just wasn’t happy with my performance. I played better in the second half, but it wasn’t up to the standards I expect of myself on a nightly basis. I wanted to be the backstop, to give my team a chance to win every night. I wanted to be on top of my game, stealing wins. It just wasn’t there, at least not as much as I wanted it to be.
Basically a bad hip this season and poor play this season lead to his retirement. And while this guy has kind of tailed off the past few seasons, you got to remember how good he actually was. Over 1,000 games, over 400 wins, a career .919 SV% and a GAA under 2.55. The guys was a generational goalie, who, had he not run into the Bruins in 2011, would probably be a Stanley Cup champion.
It’s crazy though, over 1,000 games, 6 all-star appearances, two Gold Medals and Luongo will probably be remembered most for his antics off this ice. Love or hate the guy you can’t deny the comedy he brings to the game. In a day in age where most NHL players are quiet and keep to themselves, Bobby Lou has been a pioneer for the NHL with social media. I mean, this guy has had some all-time tweets
I’ll miss Bobby Lou both on and off the ice. These tweets are all-time, but I’ll guarantee this guy isn’t leaving twitter and will probably be more active now. On the ice, there was no goalie the Bruins lit up more than this guy so he will be missed.